The Catastrophe In- Waiting

The incidents like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are bound to have severe disastrous effects on the environment in the years to come.




On April 30, 2010, US President Barack Obama released a statement barely seven days after an explosion in the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig one mile below the Gulf of Mexico, which triggered off a massive oil spill into the Gulf. The oil spill soon began to affect the shores of the coasts of US states of Louisiana, Mississippi.

The Deepwater Horizon, which was considered as one of the most technologically advanced drilling platforms in the world, became a victim of an explosion on April 20.The explosion gave rise to one of the greatest oil spills in the American history. The drill had already drilled a well in the sea floor and was working in one of the last stages of the operation, and was building a cement casing to reinforce the well. The oil spill was estimated to be below 5,000 barrels a day by the US Government officials on 28 April .However, barely a month later the government scientists came up with estimation of between 12,000 and 25,000 barrels a day of oil into the sea.

Apart from economy, the oil spill has had drastic effects on wildlife and the environment. The worst affected from this spill has been the US state of Louisiana. The $4.2 billion seafood industry of the state, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the US seafood supply, has been severely affected by the spill. The state is the second biggest seafood harvester and is also the leading provider of shrimps, oysters, crabs and crawfish. Moreover, the US government has declared a “fishery disaster” in the seafood producing states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Oil, some of it in thick sheets has begun to come on the shores of Louisiana wildlife reserves. The oil sleek has started threatening hundreds of species of fish, birds and other wildlife along the Gulf Coast.

The incidents like this are bound to have severe effects on the ecosystem and marine life of our planet. The spill might trigger off environmental disasters due to petroleum toxicity and environmental disasters. As the oil spill in large amounts are a potent threat to underwater flora and fauna. The immediate effects of oil contamination are toxicity of fish and other food species. However, in case of the Mexico oil spill, the marine life has been affected as the shellfish face a bigger threat as they need surface air to breathe and in this process they might ingest the toxic oil. Similarly, those birds and animals which prey on the shellfish are also in a bigger risk of being poisoned.

Whatever the reasons might be, the ultimate bottom-line is that the incident will have a long-lasting effect on our ecosystem.